A Villain's Way of Taming Heroines

In a study sealed in utter solitude, Ansel sat upon a bench, his gaze askance at the standoff between the pair dubbed "twins."

No, to call them twins would be a grave mistake.

For both were the absolute, the unequivocal, the undiluted essence of Ravenna Ziegler.

This was the crux of… the wager proposed by Ansel and Ravenna three years prior.

He aimed to prove that without him, "Ravenna Ziegler" was destined for naught but failure, not merely inconsequential, but driven to the most extreme straits, to the point of indifference or even… destruction of the Tower of Babel.

Yet, Ansel did not coerce Ravenna into this bet by threatening to erase her memories, but rather he offered her an extravagantly generous proposition.

"You may bear witness to this wager, to observe how you, devoid of my presence, will change, evolve, and advance. Moreover, I shall grant you the opportunity to delve further—until the wager’s conclusion, you are free to remain in Hydral manor’s subterranean library, to peruse and study all tomes at your leisure."

This was not coercion but an indulgence of the highest order.

The Hydral legacy’s secret tomes, millennia-old... even if not housed within Hydral’s domain but in the imperial manor, were enough to drive anyone to frenzy.

And the cost of such an act was—

"In this wager, I shall not intimidate or coerce you; all that transpires will be of your own volition."

This was a common refrain of Ansel’s, yet Ravenna was well aware that the absence of threats did not preclude Ansel’s guidance and intervention. Regardless of the initial threats or the terms offered, Ravenna had no grounds for refusal.

For she believed she would not be subjugated by Ansel, would not yield to this devil—why would her future self not achieve what she could now?

How could she possibly become so deranged as to… disregard even the Tower of Babel?

Thus, the wager was established.

And crucially, if Ravenna were to remain a hidden observer, then who would partake in this wager as the protagonist? Create a puppet with Ravenna’s memories, fabricating an entirely false past?

No, that was not Ansel’s desire.

What he sought was the… genuine Ravenna herself.

And, as it happened, there was precisely one individual in the world capable of this feat.

["Do you believe a soul can be molded, Ravenna? The transcendental foundation, the unique wellspring of each extraordinary being, it... can be shaped, created— the most distinguished alchemists can even accomplish this."]

Indeed, Ansel’s father, the greatest alchemist in history, Flamelle Hydral, could craft souls—not anew, not entirely different, but indistinguishable from their original, the very soul of the person themselves.

That is why Flamelle regarded Ravenna with such interest, for she was the only one worthy of Ansel personally seeking his aid.

That is why Toradon and Falcon remarked that Ravenna was "problematic," for they were among the few in the world who knew that Flamelle could create souls, having not only witnessed this method and process but also being Flamelle’s chief sorcerer and the head of Wind, privy to all secrets.

However, this miraculous creation also comes with extremely stringent conditions—it requires a significant number of the original owner’s soul fragments as materials.

If the quantity is insufficient, the newly born soul will not sustain for long before it disintegrates; and if the original soul still exists in the world, her instincts, her entirety, will drive her to gravitate towards the original soul.

Either to return or... to devour.

During this process, due to the soul’s return and connection, if there is a loss of memory, it will continuously synchronize with the original memories until a flawless harmony is achieved.

Naturally, Ravenna would not sacrifice too many soul fragments for this wager; the fragments she severed were only sufficient to sustain the new Ravenna for three years. When the limit approaches, the erased and altered memories will gradually awaken, until they align completely with the existing soul memories.

Thus, the initial scene unfolded, a moment that Ravenna, at the time, could not comprehend. Your next read awaits at NovelBin.Côm

That is—why exactly did Ansel scheme to insert her soul into a puppet?

Because only in this way could Ansel, through Soren, gradually create the illusion of damaged memories for Ravenna, to prevent her from detecting the anomaly during the memory restoration process and realizing the truth prematurely.

—Her memories were never damaged. The flashbacks, the physical discomfort... all were due to her soul’s insufficient purity, a longing for the original soul, hoping that after completing a thorough memory synchronization, she would either return to the original Ravenna or... devour her.

Madam Ronger’s mentor, Myron, had also been dealt with by Ansel’s command to Soren; she was actually Soren’s disguise, leading Ravenna to fully believe that the oddity in her memories stemmed from the original soul damage.

Until today, when the situation has spiraled out of control and the wager reaches its conclusion, Ravenna’s, no... Helen’s memories, are fully restored.

"Listen well... the following words, I will not repeat to you again."

Ansel stared at the screen, her eyes burning and her demeanor cold, while his face devoid of any emotion.

Ansel of Hydral, at the age of thirteen, had already struggled in the depths of despair for three full years.

Those three years were enough to teach him, to make him realize many things—to recognize that he must be sufficiently cruel, sufficiently cunning, sufficiently evil, to realize that... he had no other choice.

Rather than say that Ravenna’s rational thinking taught Ansel the cold value of assessment, it would be more accurate to say... it facilitated all that had happened.

Because Ansel would have come to this realization sooner or later, without needing Ravenna’s reminder.

The despair at ten destroyed the boy’s naive warmth, shattered the positive upbringing his family had provided.

Perhaps Ansel of Hydral might have had other opportunities.

But after that day, he could only be a villain.

His nature was left with only evil and madness, because justice and order could not help him.

Value judgments, cold sacrifices... even without the inspiring Ravenna, Ansel would ultimately have taken this path.

So, even though Ansel was only thirteen at the time, he was already sufficiently cold and cruel, sufficiently evil and cunning.

This wager was the beginning of a plan that spanned these entire three years, and it was... the most crucial conclusion.

Now, Helen has fallen so far, she regards the Tower of Babel as nothing, and holds Ansel in the highest esteem, is that enough?

No, it is not enough.

Why, after all, is a hero a hero?

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